Daily Buzz | On Independence Day

Hello, Neighbor,

As you know, I have established a lane with the Buzz. Most of the time I keep to it. But today, the day we celebrate 246 years of being an independent country, it feels incomplete not to acknowledge what’s on the minds of many.

You might have learned by now that I’m the kind of person who has answers. If I don’t have them, I find them. If I can’t find them, I keep searching. I don’t like not knowing the answer. And I feel like these days, especially these last several weeks, it’s impossible to know the answers without being a constitutional scholar.

Not being a constitutional scholar, I feel ill prepared to get into conversations about the constitutionality of Roe vs. Wade and the constitutionality of its being overturned. And, of course, even if those questions were easy to answer, there are social, political, and religious (even for those who don’t practice a religion) aspects involved.

You don’t need to be a constitutional scholar, however, to know that there’s a group of folks who no longer have federal protection they (we) have had for nearly 50 years. No law degree is necessary to know that many in society are celebrating this loss of federal protection.

I’m going to be completely honest and say I am still trying to piece together my thoughts about the role of federal government in protecting citizens’ rights - especially when it knows for a fact what will happen in certain places when those responsibilities shift back to the states. And my ability to articulate a coherent thought is severely limited by the emotions surrounding it.

This isn’t the place for that kind of statement, anyway.

But I would be remiss in not at least acknowledging that, on this Independence Day, a huge chunk of Americans are feeling their liberty threatened, are seeing the further restrictions that are likely to come down the pike, and are feeling powerless to do anything about it.

For some folks, that means they won’t feel much like celebrating today. Some will spend the day donating to organizations and political candidates they believe will support the rights of all people in our society. Still others will carry on as usual, and maybe they will (or maybe they won’t) have these recent events in mind as they celebrate our nation’s birthday.

Whichever you are, I hope your day brings peace, happiness, and the determination to build a better tomorrow.

Take care,

Nicci